L5R - Unity - Chapter 1 - Winter Solstice

[Plainsfox]

The Kraken bushi sneezed as Kaichiyo led him to a secluded portion of the garden. "Must be the cold" Naohiko offered as he waited for the Daidoji to go away. When they were finally gone, he would begin to relay to his princess some of the discussions he had with Denbe and Ichi.

"It seems at every turn after I left you yesterday, the whole world told me I shouldn't have done that." Naohiko let out a deep sigh. "And from what I've been told, One of the princesses here is not as free to move as she would like to be."  

[Raganui Minamoto]

He'd tilt his head a bit, thinking on it. Then he'd start slow. "Well, the most obvious trait is his own artistic ability with origami. Aside from that, he takes any task assigned to him rather seriously. As for more martial abilities, he's a decent swordsman and is still training hard to improve himself in both straight kenjutsu and the dueling forms. I do believe his favorite color is green, though it might have changed since I last thought on it." He chuckles slightly. "Though, he is slightly shy at times."

Untra-VOID POINT- Awareness/Courtier 4k3
Score - 22  

[Paidi tou Selini]

"Mm. Right." she responded worriedly, both at the prospect of her yojimbo coming down with something and at the overly curious Daidoji.

"Hmph. Well. Had I been anyone else, you might have been right. But I'm amazing, so there was nothing to worry about." she laughed with a haughty half-smirk, before growing a bit more serious and lowering her voice conspiratorially. "But the world wasn't necessarily wrong either. She's evil, no doubt about that. Threatened to kill us if I revealed what I found out. So be exceedingly careful. That's an order. I don't suspect all those under her would play accessory to such a threat, but enough of them that unless we have another Great Clan to support us we cannot safely trust any Crane at this court any longer. More especially any Daidoji, since it is impossible for none of them to be complicit, and impossible to know which ones are."

She paused, first to look around again, and then to blink and frown. The wheels were turning slowly, first a brow furrow, then a mouth askew, then a tilted head. "One of the- ...by the Kami! That Lioness!? Oooh this... is bad. I need to- rrr, but no that wouldn't... but then-... hm.. I... need to think about this. Be. Careful."  

[Plainsfox]

The green eyed bushi groaned inwardly as he marshalled potential allies on the level of the Crane for their little minor clan. Ruri had pointed out that Satoko's rivalry was her own and not that of the Mantis in general. Ruri herself seemed highly mercantile. He could try again with her and try to tempt her with what little assets they had.... The Spider didn't seem like the worst thing in the world right now, truth be told. If somehow they managed to rescue Ami from the grips of Kioko, that would put the Kraken in a better light with the Lion, but that was unlikely. Furthermore, how was he going to get permission to escort Emi to her parents? "Understood. We'll keep a low profile until we can figure things out. Do you wish to watch Usagi-san and I spar?"  

[Paidi tou Selini]

"I wouldn't mind so much, but bath and tea must comes first. Find me in the dining hall in a bit if you still want me along. If you're not there I'll assume you went ahead with your little romantic venture without me." she concluded with a little laugh, before nodding and parting ways. It was bath time! Ain't nothing getting in her way of relaxation! [/knockonwood]  

[Plainsfox]

Naohiko would nod and head off to the bath himself to get ready for Ichi. Rather, he would head for tea first and then bath after parting from Kaichiyo..  

[Rain Yupa]

@ Naohiko & Kaichiyo:

As you return from your garden discussion, you would almost be 'intercepted' by the pair of Daidoji guards on their route, though it was passed off as accidental coincidence. They were polite enough in their apology of almost bumping in to you, however. You can try to scrutinize the sincerity of their words with an Awareness/Investigation (Interrogation) but a raise will be required (optionally) to be subtle about it. Another raise possibility would be to try to read more into it and maybe glean more from the interaction than the surface value. Other raises, of course, can be applies as you wish.

Or, you can simply draw your own conclusions.

If not pressed (that is, any investigation rolls made with the subtle raise), the Daidoji would be on their way and you would not see them again prior to your bathing. After which, your sleepy penalties will be removed.

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@ Gendo:

"Hmm..." Dende would sound thoughtfully. "Well, as I said, she is a courtier. I don't think she has a fondness for the martial arts. Is he one of those bushi that is dedicated to the blade extensively? Not that there's anything wrong with that, per se, but I might want to be turning my gaze towards other prospects if that's the case."

"Is there anything further you can tell me about him? The man behind the katana."

Gendo, you don't need a new roll, your prior one will carry on for the entire topic.  

[Plainsfox]

Naohiko would make the roll.

OOC:
Awareness/Investigation (Interrogation): 6k3
w/1 raise for subtlety
1 raise to glean as much as he can.
Results: 23-10 for raises -5 for penalty? ><= 8  

[Raganui Minamoto]

"Well, he is being trained to be a magistrate. His father is one and so he's got to have proper manners, even more so than one such as I. Personally, I think he prefers talking and making good relations with people than causing trouble, though he attracts it a bit." He chuckles at this, smiling at the smaller man. "If you want, I can get Kaichiyo-hime in on this and have her give what she knows to you. As much as I hate to admit it, I was not as close to him growing up as I probably should have been."  

[Rain Yupa]

Gendo:

"That's okay," Denbe reassured Gendo, smiling. "If you're not used to reading people, sometimes it's difficult to describe them on the spot. I might reach out to the person I had thought of at first, and see what she thinks. Thank you for your help, Gendo-san."

The rest of the walk would proceed without incident.

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@Naohiko:

You are unable to glean anything from them the guards.

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Later...

@Naohiko:

You are informed by peasant messenger that Usagi Ichi is waiting for you in the on-site dojo!

@ Kaichiyo:

You have the awkward situation of two different peasant messengers come to your door at the same time. You have two simultaneous invitations to meet with someone. One is from Kitsuki Senzo, the other from someone named... Yogo Bakin?

@ Gendo:

Nothing on your plate right now! biggrin  

[Plainsfox]

Naohiko proceeded to the dojo in a fairly unhurried pace. It would be best to be relaxed and not stress out over things. The bushi knocked on the dojo and waited for the Usagi maiden's response.  

[Paidi tou Selini]

Shower, tea, refreshed! With a full belly and the knowledge that things would be respectably calm for the next few days, the little Princess was ready to start some serious thinking and planning in peace. But when she returned to her room she was surprised to find not Naohiko, but a pair of messengers. Leaving her in the rather awkward situation of choosing one meeting over another. Something to which she could be glad for the lack of grand activity this day, perhaps if she manged to meet with both in a timely fashion neither would feel slighted for not being chosen over the other. She couldn't imagine a conversation with either would last overly long.

"Hm. Well isn't this a curious predicament. I can conjure a guess at what Senzo wants, but I haven't the foggiest clue what Yogo-san wishes. The name sounds familiar, but... Mm. In any case, unless he has declared the matter urgent, please inform him that I will make myself available for a meeting after lunch. In the meantime, lead the way to Kitsuki Senzo. May as well get the worst one out of the way first and pray the second can be more uplifting in its stead." she declared to the messengers, quickly retrieving her katana before heading off to follow.  

[Rain Yupa]

@ Naohiko:

The servant guides you to a smaller dojo building off of one of the Crane's many courtyards. Not the "official" one the sensei train at, but one for just battles. You arrive at the door to the Crane dojo. Messily scrawled on a sign-up sheet is the kanji for what seems to be 'Usagi Ichi' in the "morning" section.

You get no response when you knock on the outside of the door. You hear some sounds on the inside, like some sort of vigorous activity going on. And some heavy breathing. Heavy lady breathing.

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@ Kaichiyo:

The scorpion-sent servant would hurry off to deliver your response. The dragon-sent one would guide you to the 'neutral' meeting area, not far from what you believe is the Dragon guest wing. They would respectfully bow to you and back away while deeply bowed until they were out of sight of you.

When you enter the room Senzo was in, you find it barren. No furniture resides in here, just the Dragon sitting upon a tatami mat, with an empty mat across from him. He too has his daisho here, though they are on the floor by his side.

Senzo has a very traditional look about him that few samurai this day and age still utilize. Perhaps it's that adherence to tradition that makes him stand out. He has well defined features including raised cheekbones and a shaved pate haircut, his black hair dressed into a topknot. His clothes are of fine material, as one might expect of a guest of Kyuden Doji, but lacks a pattern and is otherwise plain. He seems to have been meditating while waiting for your arrival, as he opens his eyes to meet yours. He carries a certain intensity about him that is palpable in this room, which is amplified by his steely unyielding stare.

It's not the look per se that does it for him, but he has taken it and made it his look. You think that if anyone else tried to emulate it, they would not be able to do it justice. You've heard him whispered about by some of the samurai-ko here and many have their eye on him.

"Kaichiyo," he would say after a moment more. Lifting one hand just enough, he would gesture in the general direction of the vacant mat. "Please. Sit."

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@ Gendo:

You are relaxing in your room when you hear a voice clear on the other side of your door. "Himura-sama, it's me. I have what you wanted." It's a woman's voice; it's somewhat familiar, but you can't seem to place it.  

[Plainsfox]

Naohiko would quietly open the door. Chances are that Ichi would be engrossed in a workout routine to prepare for their sparring. She seemed the type. If unnoticed, He would then enter the dojo cautiously and try to put any stupid thoughts out of his head that his lechery put in there. If Ichi is training vigorously as Naohiko expects, the Kraken bushi would call out to her from a respectful distance. "Ichi-san. I'm here for our sparring session."  

[Paidi tou Selini]

Empty room, steely gaze, daisho, marked insulting greeting, this was off to such a great start. She couldn't help but feel he was treating this situation far more seriously than it merited. She also couldn't help feeling that time to go home couldn't come soon enough at this point. Court was a bust. Mulligan.

"Kitsuki-san. Good to finally meet you." she responded melodically, polite, if not necessarily cheerful. Cheerful was not in the cards today, it seemed. Still, she marched over to the offered mat and removed her daisho, placing it to mirror his own as she sat. "I'm surprised to be hearing from you. I was given to understand you have a grievance that is unfortunately out of my capacity to reconcile until after I have inherited stewardship of my clan." She left the 'what is this about?' question implied, instead allowing him to state his intentions on his own initiative. She also held back her biting 'If it's true at all.' ...for now.